Seattle Hempfest

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Hempfest co-founder and Executive Director Vivian McPeak on the festival's mainstage, 2007.
Hempfest co-founder[1] and Executive Director[2] Vivian McPeak on the festival's mainstage, 2007.

Seattle Hempfest is an annual event in Seattle, Washington, the world's largest[3] annual gathering advocating decriminalization of marijuana for uses including but not limited to medicinal, industrial, and recreational.[4] Founded in 1991 as the Washington Hemp Expo,[5][1] a self-described "humble gathering of stoners" attended by only 500 people,[5] and renamed the following year as Hempfest,[1] it has grown into a 2-day annual political rally, concert, and arts and crafts fair[6] with attendance typically over 100,000. Speakers have included Seattle city council member Nick Licata,[5] actor/activist Woody Harrelson (2004),[5] travel writer and TV host Rick Steves (2007),[5][7] former Dallas Cowboys center Mark Stepnoski (2003),[5][8] and former chief of the Seattle Police Department Norm Stamper (2006).[1] Hempfest has also in recent years attracted such well-known performers as Fishbone (2002)[9], The Kottonmouth Kings (2004)[10], Rehab (2006)[11], and Pato Banton (2007)[12] to its five stages[13] spread throughout Myrtle Edwards Park and Elliott Bay Park, on Seattle's waterfront.[14][13]

Early Hempfests "featured blatant marijuana smoking";[1] 60 people were cited for illegal marijuana use at the 1997 Hempfest, and about 20 were arrested the following year. Eventually Hempfest and the police reached a modus vivendi: there was only one arrest in 2001. The political context surrounding marijuana in Seattle and Washington has changed considerably over the years. Washington legalized medical marijuana in 1998. In 2003, Seattle passed an initiative that made adult personal use marijuana offenses the city's lowest law enforcement priority.[1]

The festival has an annual budget of approximately $200,000.[15]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f McNerthney 2007
  2. ^ Seattle's Hempfest Heats Up, High Times, August 15, 2002 event date; article undated. Accessed 23 August 2007.
  3. ^ According to the 2007 Seattle Hempfest program, p. 22, "As far as we can tell, it is [the biggest pot rally anywhere], and it dwarfs its closest counterpart."
  4. ^ According to the 2007 Seattle Hempfest program, p. 3, they advocate "the decriminalization of marijuana for responsible adults, legal access to medical marijuana…, and legal domestic hemp production."
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Seattle Hempfest History: 1991-Present", Seattle Hempfest. Accessed 23 August 2007.
  6. ^ 2007 Seattle Hempfest program, p. 22.
  7. ^ 2007 Seattle Hempfest program, p. 6. An essay by Steves appears on p.16–17 of the 2007 program.
  8. ^ Hempfest 2003 achieves Pot Peace!, on official Seattle Hempfest site. Accessed online 24 August 2007.
  9. ^ Mike Cust, Seattle Hempfest rocks hard!, Cannabis Culture, February 24, 2003. Accessed online 24 August 2007.
  10. ^ Philip Dawdy, 2004 Hempfest Highlights, Seattle Weekly, August 18, 2004. Accessed online 24 August 2007.
  11. ^ Seattle Hempfest History on Hempfest official site. Accessed online 24 August 2007.
  12. ^ Monica Guzman, News update: Former police chief Stamper backs out of Hempfest, August 15, 2007 on the official blog of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Accessed online 24 August 2007.
  13. ^ a b Marijuana policy reform is emphasis at Hempfest, Seattle Times, August 17, 2006. Accessed online 24 August 2007.
  14. ^ Vendor Policies, on official Seattle Hempfest site. Accessed online 24 August 2007.
  15. ^ 2007 Seattle Hempfest program, p. 23.

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[edit] External links

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